Retrograde
by esme.says.so
Summary: At 17, Bella moved to Florida. 7 years later, betrayed, she needs a new start and returns to Forks. Edward, Charlie's new deputy, has been left reeling from his own betrayal. Time heals all wounds, but can they learn to trust again?
1. Beginings

Disclaimer- All things Twilight belong to S. Meyer, I'm just playing :)

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Retrograde

Chapter One- Beginnings

Here, everything seemed muted. Colours were duller, all greens and blues and greys. Especially greys. Sounds were muffled by the clouds that loitered overhead, and there was a persistent, _insistent_, drizzle that gave everything a foggy haze. But Bella had to admit the air was cleaner here, and taking in a deep breath she could almost feel freshness and _life _pouring in to her lungs.

Sighing resignedly, she made up her mind- again- to put Florida behind her. Still, as she stared up at the school she would have attended in her junior and senior years, she couldn't help but wonder how her life might have turned out had she decided to stay with Charlie here in Forks rather than move back to be with Renee and Phil once they had settled in Jacksonville.

_There would have been no James._

With a grimace, Bella forcefully pushed that thought away. She wasn't going to think about Florida, and she certainly wasn't going to think about _him_. Taking another calming breath, Bella squared her shoulders and, with head held high, set off determinedly up the steps of Forks High School. Half way up, she stumbled and cursed her decision to wear heels. Surreptitiously, she glanced around to see if anyone had seen, and felt her cheeks redden embarrassingly as two students passed her laughing.

_That's it, flats for the rest of the year. _

Reaching the reception area, Bella was met by a slender woman of about her age with a warm smile.

"You must be Isabella Swan?" she asked in a pleasant, soft voice. She held out a hand in greeting.

"Bella," Bella corrected, shaking the offered hand. Angela wasted no time in putting Bella at ease, quickly taking her through the necessary admin, giving a basic tour of the school and sharing helpful anecdotes about particular staff and students as they went. Just as they were approaching what was to be Bella's classroom for the year, a booming voice called from down the corridor.

"Yo, Angie! Who do we have here? Fresh meat?"

Angela laughed and shook her head. "I'm so sorry," she said to Bella. "I forgot to tell you about Emmett, he's harmless really."

Bella turned to look in the direction of the voice and gasped. Emmett was _huge_, easily over six feet, muscles bulging under his polo shirt, all broad shoulders and strong legs. It was an intimidating spectacle.

_A body like that takes serious dedication._

"Bella, allow me to introduce Emmett, Coach Cullen to the kids. This is Bella Swan, the new English teacher," Angela said.

At the mention of her name, Emmett's eyes brightened in recognition. "Chief Swan's daughter, of course!" he grasped Bella's hand and pumped it up and down enthusiastically. She tried not to wince at his crushing grip. "My sister Alice does all the admin down at the station, and my brother's just been made Deputy."

Bella smiled. "Your sister is Alice?" She'd spoken to her many times in recent weeks while trying to get hold of Charlie during her move.

"Talked your ear off already, has she?" Emmett laughed. "Sounds like Alice."

At that moment the bell for registration rang, effectively halting further conversation. Angela pointed out Bella's classroom before returning to reception, and with a last wide smile Emmett bounded back up the corridor, high fiving a couple of students on the way.

Entering her new classroom, Bella just had time to settle at her desk before the students began pouring in, chatting loudly among themselves about their Christmas breaks. Bella couldn't believe how _young_ they looked. They were not necessarily physically different from previous students she'd taught, but they had a certain air of naivety about them that Bella decided she liked. Forks clearly wasn't a town where the kids had to worry unduly about growing up too quickly, it was safe and quiet and nurturing, and those were just the qualities she needed to be surrounded by after the drama of the past few months.

The rest of the day passed mostly without incident. She tactfully chose to ignore the odd high-spirited students letting off steam in her first few classes, putting it down to post-holiday energy. The first day was far too soon to get herself a reputation as a hard-nosed bitch, anyway. And she learned that the two laughing students from the steps that morning were called Jane and Heidi when they sat stonily in the back row of her afternoon senior class, far too involved in their own perfection to deign to do school work. Bella mentally rolled her eyes- there were some in ever school.

The evenings alone in her unfamiliar house gave her unwelcome time to think about James. Her James, who had pursued her doggedly for months, who she had found naked in her bed with that woman. And laughing- like it had all been a game. If only that had been the worst of it. She was glad of the busy days that kept those thoughts at bay.

The rest of the week passed in much the same way. There always seemed so much to do that Bella found very little opportunity to talk with Angela or Emmett again at any length, much to her disappointment, some new friends would have been a nice distraction from the solitude of the evenings. So when the bell rang to signal the end of the day on Friday and Bella saw Angela waiting outside the classroom for her, she smiled widely. Angela entered as the last students filed out.

"Hey," she smiled. "You survived the first week then?"

"Just about!" Bella replied with a grin, grabbing her jacket and bag.

"Do you have plans this evening? At the beginning of each semester, a few of us go to the Cullen's for drinks, it might be a nice chance for you to get to know a few more people."

"I'm actually off to meet Charlie at the station," she smiled apologetically as they reached the parking lot. "You know, father daughter catch up."

"Well, you should come along after, if you're free. Emmett and his sister will be there, and their mother is a darling. It should be fun," Angela said. "Say hi to Charlie for me," she called over her shoulder with a wave as she headed towards her car.

"Yeah, definitely," Bella replied with a smile. Slinging her bag on to the passenger seat, she climbed in to her truck. With a small wave to Angela, she set off to Forks Police Station.

On the short drive, she found her mind wandering again. Images of lazy afternoons in the warm Florida sunshine floated torturously through her mind. Once more, she thought of the different path her life might have taken if she had stayed with Charlie and gone to school here. She might have already known Angela with her air of clam efficiency and kind smile. They might have been friends already, and spent evenings on the phone laughing about old memories. She might have become used to this weather, she thought with a chuckle as she pulled up outside Forks City Hall and made her way in to the police station.

Behind the reception desk there was a small woman with sharp eyes and a bright smile in a finely tailored blue suit who Bella could only assume was the famous Alice. Somehow, she looked just like Bella had imagined while talking to her on the phone- a task Alice was currently immersed in, her lips moving a mile a minute. The two women exchanged grins of recognition as Bella began to make her way towards her father's office. She knocked on the door but received no answer. Trying the handle, she found it locked. From the corner of her eye, Bella saw a folded piece of paper taped to the wall. Tearing it down and opening it out, Bella read the short note in the familiar scrawl of countless Christmas and birthday cards.

_Bells, I'm sorry I wasn't here to meet you, something's come up that I need to sort out tonight. I hope your first week went okay; they're all pretty good kids up there. Call by the house tomorrow._

_Charlie_

Groaning in frustration, she scrunched the note up and made her way back to reception where Alice, who was now off the phone, greeted her with a dazzlingly white smile, gesturing to a spare chair behind her desk. Bella couldn't help but return the infectious smile as she sat down next to Alice.

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed happily. "It's wonderful to finally meet you. Even if Charlie didn't have your picture on every surface in his office, I'd have known you in a second. You're staring out at me with my boss's eyes- I'll never feel fully able to relax around you!" She finished with a merry laugh. Bella frowned slightly, causing Alice to laugh again. "Well! I see you have Charlie's sullen streak, too- I'll have to watch out for that!"

If Bella had blushed at the thought of Charlie plastering his office with her picture- Charlie and she didn't really _do_ sentimental, that was always more Renee's forte- she went bright red at Alice's last comment.

Alice chuckled at the chagrined flush covering Bella's cheeks. "_So_ like him," she said, and Bella found herself smiling, too. Against her better judgement, Alice was just so infectiously _likeable_.

"I met Emmett at school today," Bella said conversationally. "He said you have another brother who works here too?" Charlie had never mentioned a new deputy to her, but then again, he hadn't told her he was remarrying until a month before the wedding. In relation, a new colleague was barely a blip on the radar.

"Yes, Edward," Alice replied, and from the way her eyes shone when she said his name, Bella could tell he meant to world to his sister. "That's his office," she gestured to a frosted-glass door a few metres away. It bore the legend '_Deputy Cullen_' in angular gold lettering. "He's taking a call at the moment, but when he's done I'm going to get him to come over for drinks tonight with everyone. You'll be there, too, right?" Bella got the impression that is wasn't really a question, but nodded anyway. As Alice chatted happily on, her topics seemingly unrelated buy flowing together flawlessly, Bella couldn't help but think Edward's phone call was lasting for a surprisingly long time. Then again, with a sister like Alice and a brother like Emmett, she supposed it was only to be expected. She wondered how Charlie coped with such verbose colleagues, and grinned to herself.

Bella was broken out of her reverie when she heard shouting from the other side of Edward's door. Shocked, she looked over at Alice, whose face had taken on an ashen tone.

"He's just been through a very difficult break up, "Alice explained, her voice little more than a whisper. "Tanya- the woman he used to be with, that's who's on the phone now. Edward's been hoping for a reconciliation," she finished with a heavy sigh.

Bella nodded sympathetically as Edward's voice reached them again.

"_For once in your life, can you just be reasonable-_"

Alice met Bella's eyes and for a moment there was an awkward silence. "I've never seen him this agitated before…"

"You don't have to explain," Bella said soothingly, reaching over to pat Alice's hand reassuringly.

"My mom does that, too," Alice said with a small smile. "Edward's a big boy. He'll sort himself out, I'm sure."

"I'm sure," Bella agreed.

"So, have you been told about drinks at casa Cullen this evening?" Alice asked, changing the topic swiftly.

Bella laughed at the repeated question.

Alice waved her hand dismissively, shaking her head at her forgetfulness with an apologetic grin. "As Charlie's busy tonight, you can help me get some bits ready then," she said enthusiastically. She scribbled a quick note to Edward and stuck it to his door. Grabbing her coat and bag, she ushered Bella towards the door without waiting for a response.

The two women drove to a near by supermarket, and Alice made quick work of buying up what seemed like all of the beer and mixers in the place. On the way back to the Cullen house, they called in to a liquor store and Bella watched wide-eyed as Alice systematically emptied the shelves.

"Just how many people are you inviting over?" she asked incredulously.

"A good hostess never runs out of provisions, Bella," Alice admonished, wagging a finger with a wicked grin.

Once Alice's purchases were packed up in to the back of Bella's truck- the suspension groaning under the weight- they set off, Bella following Alice's yellow Porsche. She was increasingly getting the impression that Alice just worked for fun. There was no way she was funding this lifestyle on a PA's wage packet. This suspicion was given more weight as she followed Alice up a seemingly endless meandering driveway; rounding a corner, a huge house suddenly appeared between the dense foliage of the trees. It had pleasingly juxtaposed angles and large windows, giving it a forbidding and welcoming look all at the same time.

It took several trips to unload everything from the truck to the spacious and airy kitchen, Alice chatting all the while. Bella learned that the Cullen's had moved to Forks the year she had almost gone to Forks High- Alice lamented that they could have been friends sooner- and that Carlisle, her father, worked at the hospital with Esme renovating buildings between hosting charity functions. Bella had been right about her financial assumption, Carlisle's family were 'well off' as Alice had put it, which enabled the three siblings to pursue their passions to the delight of their parents. Emmett was dating a peppery blonde named Rosalie, Edward was recently single and Alice herself was engaged to a young and brilliant psychiatrist named Jasper.

Bella wondered aloud why such a talented family settled in a place like Forks.

"We like the quiet life," Alice said with a mega-watt smile.

Eyeing the set up for the evening's festivities with an ironic smile, Bella sincerely doubted that was the truth.


	2. Drinks

Disclaimer- All things Twilight belong to S. Meyer, I'm just playing :)

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Chapter Two- Drinks

Bella realised too late that it hadn't been the wisest decision she'd ever made to offer to carry three plates while wearing heels. Screw the heels, she shouldn't offer to carry three plates _ever_; sometimes one was enough of a challenge. The moment she realised her mistake was when the three plates simultaneously slid from her grip and plummeted towards the floor. Coincidentally, this was the exact moment that Esme chose to arrive home. The door hung open as she was greeted by the sight of two of her expensive (undoubtedly expensive) bone china plates smashing in to thousands of shards all over her marble entrance hall. The third plate didn't smash, landing instead on a gorgeous cream rug. Naturally, this was the plate bearing the dip.

_Definitely, definitely flats for the rest of the year._

"What happened?" Alice cried, running through from the kitchen still clutching a half-sliced lemon and, worryingly, a rather large knife.

Bella's face was a deep and mortified red. All she could do was survey the carnage in open-mouthed silence.

Esme placed her bag on the bench just inside the door and walked over. She kissed her daughter on the cheek in greeting and sent her back to the kitchen for a broom, then she patted Bella's arm reassuringly, just as Bella herself had done for Alice earlier.

"Mrs. Cullen, I-" Bella started.

"Firstly, it's Esme," she said sternly. Bella swallowed loudly. She had never wanted the ground to open up directly beneath her so badly in her entire life.

"And secondly," Esme continued. "Those plates were a wedding present, and I've been looking for an excuse to get rid of them for nearly thirty years."

Bella blinked once and looked at Esme. Her eyes were twinkling, and Bella let out a breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding, sagging slightly with relief. Alice arrived back with the broom and a black bin liner and the three women made short work of cleaning up the mess. The dip left a small stain on the rug, but Esme and Alice dragged it round until that corner was tucked away in the shadow of a large and ornate plant pot, and Esme declared it as good as new.

"I don't believe I got your name, dear," Esme said as they made their way back towards the kitchen.

"It's Bella," she replied, holding out a hand. "Chief Swan's daughter. I'm teaching at the high school now."

"Oh, Charlie's a dear man," Esme said. "His wife, Sue, works at the hospital with my husband Carlisle, and helps with the food for some of my charity functions."

"Yeah, Sue's a great cook," Bella agreed. "Just as well, or Charlie would be living off cereal."

Esme chuckled quietly, nodding her head as she prepared a new dish of dips. "How was Edward today?" she directed this question to Alice.

"Tanya called," was the simple reply.

A worried frown creased Emse's forehead. Bella fidgeted awkwardly, not wanting to intrude on a sensitive conversation but unsure of how to politely excuse herself.

"Um… Shall I take the dip through?" she asked tentatively, picking up the newly filled dish. To her surprise both Esme and Alice burst out laughing, the tense mood evaporating immediately.

"I think maybe _I'd_ better do that," Alice said with a wry smile, reaching over to take the dip, relaxing slightly once it was safely in her own steady grip. Esme picked up a tray of canapes and followed her daughter out of the room.

"So tell me what happened when Tanya called…" Bella heard her voice floating back from the hallway as they went to the living room. While the pair were gone, Bella busied herself by finishing up with the sliced lemons. Just as she placed the last segment on the plate, Emmett strolled in to the kitchen and dumped his large sports bag unceremoniously on one of the stools by the breakfast bar, snagging a handful of chips and cramming them in to his mouth. "Hey, Bella," he said, spraying the surface with a light dusting of crumbs.

"Emmett!" Esme scolded reprovingly from the doorway.

He looked over guiltily, shoulders hunched with chagrin. "Sorry, Esme," he mumbled, spraying more crumbs. Esme sighed, exasperated. Bella giggled.

As Emmett went to leave the room, Esme reached up and pulled him down to kiss him on the cheek. "It's still 'mom' to you, mister," she said sternly. He grinned impishly at her, dropping a kiss on top of her head before bounding out of the room and thundering up the stairs.

Esme met Bella's amused gaze. "He's a good boy," she said with an adoring smile.

"He's a messy boy, is what he is!" Alice corrected as she entered the room, frowning at the dent in her perfectly arranged bowl of chips and going to top them up. "What are you wearing tonight, Bella?" she called over her shoulder, rooting around in the cupboard.

"This?" Bella gestured uncertainly to the plain grey skirt and black shirt she was wearing. "I mean, it's just drinks here, right? We aren't going anywhere afterwards?"

"Oh, Bella!" Alice laughed merrily as if Bella had just said something hilarious. At Bella's nonplussed look, her face fell. "Well you wouldn't have time to go home and change now anyway, I suppose. Come with me, you're about the same size as Esme." And with that, she grabbed Bella's hand and led her up the wide, curving staircase.

"It's 'mom' to you, too, young lady!" Esme's voice followed them from the kitchen.

"We only do it to annoy her," Alice said with a mischievous grin.

At the top of the stairs, Alice gestured to the right. "The bathroom's the first door. Library's at the end, there's a gorgeous balcony outside, far too cold for that tonight of course..." Walking the other way along the hallway to Esme and Carlisle's room, the passed three doors bearing a name plaque each for Emmett, Alice and Edward.

"Do all three of you still live at home?" Bella found herself asking, and instantly flushed at how her assumption might be perceived as rude. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine," Alice brushed off Bella's worries with a laugh. "We do all have our own places in town, but mom still likes to have us close by. You can imagine how she gets..."

Bella nodded, grinning in understanding. It must be nice to have such a caring and involved mother. Much as she loved Renee, she had to admit that the maternal nurturing instinct never really shone through. Thinking of Renee stirred emotions and memories Bella had been doing her utmost to suppress recently, so she stopped following that line of thought and shut it tightly away again.

"Edward is actually staying here at the moment." Alice told her, holding open the door to her parents lavishly understated room. "He shared his apartment with Tanya, and it's all still a bit raw for him yet. And I think Emmett's just here so much for the free food."

Bella's laugh turned in to a strangled gasp before it had chance to leave her mouth as Alice flung open the door to Esme's closet. She had never seen so many clothes together in one place that wasn't a shop in her whole life.

"We Cullen women like to shop," Alice said conspiratorially. Bella mentally snorted. The evidence to support that 'secret' was overwhelming.

"Just explain to me why I need to change again?" Bella said faintly, still overwhelmed by the sheer volume of clothes in every colour imaginable that were assaulting her eyes.

"_Because_," Alice said with the air of someone who was just about to state the obvious. "These are your work clothes, and if you wear them tonight then subconsciously you will think you are still at work, and you won't have as much fun as you could."

Bella raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Well, I'm sure there's a psychological study out there somewhere that would back up my theory," Alice said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "And anyway, everyone else will dress up."

"Fine!" Bella huffed in defeat. Alice squealed and clapped her hands excitedly.

"You have some serious Youngest Child Syndrome symptoms going on, just so you know, and there are _real_ psychological studies around to back that up" Bella said. Alice simply grinned, stuck out her tongue and walked over to the first rail of clothes.

Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang to signal the first guests' arrival. Alice quickly removed the Concorde clips from Bella's hair, enabling it to fall around her shoulders in loose curls. She took as step back to take in the overall picture. "Much better," she declared with a decisive nod. Bella was now dressed in a knee length skirt made from floaty black fabric, and a deep blue sweater with a v-neck and half-length sleeves. Simple yet effective.

"So glad I pass inspection," Bella dead-panned. "Now hadn't we better go socialise?"

Alice led the way downstairs, and turned right into the kitchen after seeing the light on.

"Edward!" she said happily.

Bella descended the last few steps and followed Alice in to the kitchen, eager to meet the famous Edward. Once through the door, Bella stopped in her tracks. She felt a little bit like someone had simultaneously punched her in the stomach and hit her about the head. Blinking a couple of times, and taking a few steadying breaths, she took in the sight before her. Edward was... _perfect_. If she'd stopped to consider what she would have expected Edward to be like before seeing him, it probably would have been a strange cross between Alice and Emmett- tall and broad, with dark hair, laughing eyes and an easy smile.

The man that stood before her was quite different from his brother and sister. His bronze hair was in the natural kind disarray others spent hours trying to achieve. His green eyes were somewhat withdrawn, and although he didn't have Emmett's burly stature, his lean muscles still showed in his broad shoulders and toned forearms. He didn't have Emmetts' approachable and inviting looks or manners which had so put Bella at ease the first time she'd met him. Instead he looked ethereal, other-worldly. And something in his stance said _stay away_. But the brothers did share something of the cut of their jaw, their straight noses, and Bella could tell he had dimples just like Emmett even though the last thing Edward looked like he was about to do was smile.

Alice turned and gestured pointlessly to Edward as she said, "Bella, this is my brother Edward. Edward, this is Bella Swan, Charlie's daughter."

Edward's eyes snapped up to meet hers and Bella had to remind her heart to keep beating. He offered her a tight-lipped smile and a nod of the head. "Bella," he said in a low, resonating voice.

_People like him don't exist in real life, _Bella thought to herself, feeling dazed.

"I'll be upstairs," he said to Alice, who looked disappointed. For a moment, she seemed on the verge of arguing the point, but thinking better of it she bit her lip and nodded silently.

"You win some, you lose some," she said with a light shrug and a grin for Bella as Edwards footsteps faded upstairs.

"Is he okay? I mean, after the call earlier?" Bella asked. "I don't mean to pry or anything," she hastened to add.

"He _will_ be okay," Alice said. "He just needs time. He's always been the one who internalises things. Emmett and I just get it all out and over with. Edward thinks too much." Bella nodded in understanding. She knew all about thinking things over too much. "But we are not here to dwell on unhappy things, we are going to have a lovely evening and you are going to meet some fabulous people," Alice said, and then the doorbell rang once more. "Perfect timing!" she said, beaming.

Emmett beat them to the front door, and there stood Angela with a shorter man who had a round face and large smile.

"This is Ben," Angela said, introducing him to Bella.

"Lovely to meet you," he said, and to Bella's surprise he hugged her warmly. "Angie has told me all about you." His eyes twinkled behind his glasses, and Bella liked him instantly.

"Ben, it's lovely to meet you, too," she said.

Before Emmett could close the front door on the cold evening air, two more people came up the front steps. The man bounded up two stairs at a time. He was tall- taller even than Emmett- and well muscled with black hair and eyes that seemed almost as dark. In contrast, the woman with him was so pale she almost seemed luminescent, with perfectly bouncing blonde curls framing the most intimidatingly beautiful face, and a piercing blue gaze. Her features looked stony until Emmett ran out to grab her as she reached the porch. His large arms encircled her tiny waist as he swung her around. Her whole face came alive as she laughed throatily, playfully hitting his at his shoulders. He set her down and stared adoringly into her eyes, which had softened to mirror his expression. He dropped a quick kiss on to her full lips before draping an arm over her shoulder and turning to face Bella.

"Bella, this is my Rosalie. Rose, this is Bella Swan, Charlie's daughter," he introduced them. One arm wrapped around Emmett's hips, Rosalie reached over to shake Bella's hand with the other.

"And this," he said, tapping the man's chest with the back of his free hand. "Is Jacob Black. He and Rosie are your basic go-to people if you ever have any car trouble."

"Duly noted," Bella said with a smile as Jacob engulfed her hand in his own massive grasp. Looking up it to his eyes, something clicked. "Wait, Jacob Black?" She clarified. "Billy's son, by any chance?"

Jacob's face split in to an even wider grin. "I was wondering if you'd remember!" he exclaimed happily. "We used to make mud pies together," he explained at Emmett and Rosalie's confused looks.

"I bet you still do, you overgrown child," Rose said as she walked past him, sticking her tongue out.

"Yeah, just you remember who's paying your wages, Blondie!" he called after her.

"Just _you_ remember who's bringing in all the business in the first place!" floated back the tart reply.

The group made their way through to the Cullen's lounge. It was a large room, nearly the width of the house, with double height ceilings at the rear, and massive windows that looked out over hills and mountains beyond the beautifully kept garden. There were a number of chairs and two large sofas arranged around a large, low table, which bore drinks and snacks, in front of a handsome fire place where they all settled while Alice saw that they all had drinks.

Shortly after, the sound of the front door opening could be heard once more. "That's probably Car-" Alice began to say before squealing at leaping to her feet so quickly that Bella jumped in her seat, managing to spill some of her cosmopolitan on Esme's skirt. Saying a silent prayer of thanks that it was a dark skirt, Bella looked round in time to see Alice fling herself bodily in the the arms of a tall blond haired man who smiled indulgently as she showered kisses all over his face.

"Alice, you saw me this morning!" he protested lightly, a southern accent just coming through as he laughed at the absurd girl in his arms.

"Jasper, I presume?" Bella asked as Alice directed him to her chair, sitting herself on his lap.

He grinned back at her. "You must be Bella? I've heard so much about you."

"Is that the famous Cullen Cosmo I can see?" a voice asked from the doorway.

"Jess!" Alice exclaimed. "We didn't even hear you arrive! Come sit down, there's plenty of space."

Jess was a short, curvy woman. He light brown hair was pulled back in to a tight ponytail, and she had a frank, straight forward look about her. Walking over, she picked up a drink and sunk down onto the sofa next to Bella, giving her a small smile and introductions were made once more.

"Hey, where's Newton?" Jacob asked, reaching to swipe the largest slice of pizza off the plate in front of him.

"Said he couldn't make it, something lame about a busy period at work," Jess shrugged, snagging her own slice of pizza.

"In January?" Rosalie raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"He's probably just sore I beat him at basketball last week!" crowed Emmett.

Jake laughed loudly. "Yeah, probably. Always was a sore loser!"

"Mike Newton, he's another friend of ours," Alice clarified for Bella. "We haven't seen him too much recently, though."

"What does he do?" Bella asked.

"He owns a sports and hiking equipment store in town. It does a pretty good trade in the summer, too," Angela answered. Alice smirked at the subtle emphasis on the word _summer_.

For the rest of the evening, the drinks and conversation flowed freely. Frequent bouts of laughter punctuated the lively discussions. Bella mostly sat and watched, enjoying the dynamic between the group. However, when Emmett started to tell them that in the week he'd discovered one of his students was abusing steroids, she felt her face begin to flush uncontrollably and she quickly excused herself to the bathroom.

Once she reached the top of the stairs, she found herself walking past the door to the bathroom and into the library. It was dark inside, and smelled comfortingly familiar- of dust and paper and a thousand chances to forget. Heading straight towards the French doors, she stepped out on to the balcony, gasping at the biting cold of the January night air. Walking the few steps forward, she lent against the railings. Her head was swimming with too many drinks and too many mistakes. She felt the tell tale sting of unshed tears begin in the corner of her eyes and took in a deep, shaky breath.

"I come out her to think, too," a deep voice said from behind her.

Visibly jumping and letting out a shocked gasp, Bella spun quickly around and came face to face with Edward Cullen standing in front of a wrought iron bench.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was out here," she stumbled over the words, stepping towards the door. She was stopped by Edwards icy cold hand on her arm and shivered involuntarily.

"I think I've done enough thinking for tonight," Edward said. He removed his jacket and draped it lightly over her shoulders. "It's cold out tonight," he murmured pointlessly, disappearing back into the house.

Bella sat sown heavily on the bench. Forks wasn't helping her forget nearly as much as she'd anticipated. She shivered again and pulled Edward's jacket around her more tightly in a vain attempt to keep some of the chill out. She wasn't ready to return to the happy group downstairs just yet.

She wasn't ready for a lot of things just yet.


	3. Coffee

Disclaimer- All things Twilight belong to S. Meyer, I'm just playing :)

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Chapter Three- Coffee

The following morning, Bella woke up in stages. The first thing she became fuzzily aware of was the sound of someone moving around downstairs, she could hear the faint clatter of crockery and the tuneless whistling that was so characteristic of Charlie. Her second realisation, then, was that she was in her old room- Leah's room now- at Charlie and Sue's home. How? Clearing her throat painfully, her mouth horribly dry, she cracked one eye open and squinted against the morning light. Memories of the previous night came crashing back to her. Literally, it felt like they were crashing in to her head repeatedly. She remembered Alice finding her in her melancholy mood on the balcony and pulling her inside, promising her a few Cosmos would perk her right up. Her memories the following hours were increasingly patchy, but she did seem to recall a certain amount of 'perk'. Now, she felt like the anti-perk.

Eventually, her need for water drove her to roll groggily out of bed and stumble down stairs, shrugging in to Leah's dressing gown on the way. Entering the kitchen, she saw Sue and Charlie sitting at the small table. Charlie looked up from his plate of bacon and eggs.

"Good morning, Bella," he said with a wry smile, fork poised in one hand midway between plate and mouth, morning paper firmly grasped in the other.

She flapped a hand vaguely in their direction, padding over to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water.

"Can I make you some bacon and eggs?" Sue asked as Bella seated herself at the table and unscrewed the bottle top. Wrinkling her nose at the thought, she shook her head.

"Dry toast, maybe?" Sue offered, making Bella smile.

"That would be great," she said, voice embarrassingly hoarse.

"So," Charlie said, staring fixedly at his paper. "Do you want to tell me what Jacob Black was doing giving you a fireman's lift up to your room at three o'clock this morning?" His voice was stern, but his moustache twitched as Bella knew it did when he was trying to repress a smile. She groaned, more memories of the previous night coming back to her. She vaguely recalled Jake's strong arm holding her steady in the Cullen's entrance hall, then being bundled in to his tiny VW Rabbit, dropping her keys in the driveway and laughing too much to walk up the steps to the door. There had been a lot of shushing.

"Blame Alice Cullen," she mumbled, burying her head in her arms on the table. At that moment, the bell rang, and Sue went to open the door.

"Good morning!" Alice said brightly as she entered the room. "Oh, toast!"

Bella raised her head at stared at Alice in disbelief as she spread Bella's toast liberally with butter and jam before making her way to the table.

"Oh dear," she said cheerfully, taking the seat between Bella and Charlie. "Someone looks a bit worse for wear."

"Apparently it's your fault, Alice," Charlie said. Bella glared at him, getting up to make more toast.

"Well, I do make a shockingly good Cosmo," Alice said with a grin, reaching to snag some bacon from Charlie's plate.

"You need to go and have a shower now or we'll be late." She directed this comment to Bella, who shot her a confused glance.

"Late for what?"

"For coffee with Angela and Rosalie, of course! We did talk about it last night. I wrote it on your hand so you'd remember."

Bella looked at her palm, and saw some faint black smudges that she supposed could have been a reminder about coffee. Sighing resignedly and deciding that coffee actually _did_ sound pretty tempting, she grabbed the fresh slice of toast and headed back upstairs. After her quick shower, dressed in a pair of Leah's jeans and one of her old sweaters, with her damp hair tucked under a woollen hat against the cold January air, Bella was already starting to feel more like herself.

"I need at ask you a favour," Alice said as soon as they were seated in her car.

"Mmm?" Bella hummed non-comittally.

"Okay, so the situation is-" Bella felt her stomach sink. No sentence that started 'the situation is' was going anywhere positive fast. However, she continued to listen with an open mind. "-You know that Jasper and I are getting married at the end of June?" Bella nodded. "Well, Tanya was going to be one of my bridesmaids, but then she and Edward broke up, so I asked her sister Kate instead. The problem is, Kate called this morning, and she's pregnant- which isn't the problem, it's fantastic news-" she clarified at Bella's inquiring look. "But, come June she'll almost be in her ninth month and in no state to travel from Alaska, let alone participate in a wedding. So…" She trailed off.

"Alice, are you asking me to be one of your bridesmaids?"

She nodded. "I know it's a really big ask, and we only met a week ago, but Charlie talks about you all the time, and you were such a help yesterday- minus the dip incident-" Bella laughed. "-and I just have this feeling we're going to be really good friends."

"Just so you know, that's a horribly high school thing to say," Bella said with a smile. "But yes, I would be honoured to be one of your bridesmaids."

Alice squealed with delight and pulled up in front of a small, cosy looking coffee shop in the centre of town. She lent over and gave Bella a quick, fierce hug and then she was out of the car and heading across the road before Bella knew it. Exiting the car too and making her way across the deserted street, she pushed open the door of the coffee shop and saw that Angela and Rosalie were already there, cups on the table in front of them. Angela was sat on a small sofa, her legs pulled up beneath her, and looked like she was suffering a bit after the previous night too, smiling sympathetically at Bella as she took in Rosalie's perfect appearance. On seeing Bella, Rose smiled lazily and gave a small wave from her own seat in a large, battered looking armchair. She had slight smudges under here eyes, but that was the only detail that was in any way awry. She was dressed more casually this morning, in jeans and an oversized jumper that Bella suspected was Emmett's, her hair loosely held back in a messy bun, a few strands escaping and hanging about her porcelain face. Her beauty despite the apparent lack of effort was almost more intimidating than her polished look of the night before.

Alice walked over from the counter, two steaming cups of coffee held before her. She placed one on the table and motioned for Bella to sit down while she curled up on the sofa next to Angela. Bella sat on the plush armchair, sinking back slightly further than she'd intended having underestimated the plump cushions. Alice threw a cushion over, and once Bella was propped safely in place, she reached over and took a long mouthful of coffee, barely noticing the heat searing down her throat as she instantly began to feel more awake.

"Bella's going to be one of my bridesmaids," Alice said, beaming.

"That's great!" Angela exclaimed.

"Wait, what happened to Kate?" Rosalie asked at the same time. "I mean, that is great news, don't get me wrong." She shot Bella a reassuring smile.

"Oh, of course, you don't know!" Alice exclaimed, sitting up a little straighter. "Kate's having a baby!"

She and Angela, who evidently knew Kate quite well, chatted happily about the impending birth for several minutes. Rosalie, however, after her initial smiles on the subject, remained rather subdued and withdrawn from the ensuing conversation. Neither Alice nor Angela tried to involve her, and Bella simply assumed that Rose must be one of those women who is quite happy to leave having babies to other women.

Tuning back in to the conversation, she was just in time to hear Alice change the vein of the conversation slightly.

"Of course, it's probably all for the best," she was saying. "I've been worried that even having Kate at the wedding might be too much of a reminder of Tanya for Edward. It's going to be difficult enough as it is; he doesn't know I know this, but-" she lowered her voice, even though the four women were the only customers in the coffee shop. "-he was going to propose to her. I found the ring."

"What did it look like?" Rose asked.

"Why, curious what sort of ring the Cullen men buy, are you?" Alice asked in a teasing voice. "It was simple, elegant. Platinum, of course, and at least two carats."

"So pedestrian," Rose sighed. "With a ring like that, he wasn't proposing because he wanted to, he was proposing because he thought he _should_."

"Tanya is an elegant woman," Angela shrugged. "Maybe Edward just saw her wearing it?"

"What happened between them?" Bella asked. "I'm not trying to pry or anything…"

"No, no, it's fine," Alice said, shaking her head and reaching for her own coffee again. "No one really knows exactly what happened. They were fine, and then the next thing everyone knew, it was over and Tanya had gone back home to Denali."

"Tanya ran those executive bonding weekends," Angela added. "You know, the problem solving in the great outdoors type."

"She started out in Denali and then moved down to Forks about two years ago," Alice continued. "She met Edward at one of Esme's events a couple of months later, and then they were just… well, Edward and Tanya. They were like the poster couple for Forks. They were happy."

"They _seemed_ happy," Rosalie amended.

"They were both really busy last summer though," Angela said. "I mean, Edward had so much going on at the station after he was made deputy, and it seemed like Tanya was always at Mike's store having to order more supplies or pass out fliers. It's easy to grow apart if you don't have much time to spend together."

"If Tanya was spending so much time with Mike, maybe she was having an affair?" Bella suggested, finishing her coffee. Rosalie and Alice laughed loudly.

"Even Edward was barely in Tanya's league," Angela explained with a chuckle. "I highly doubt that she was going anywhere hear Jess's leftovers."

"Wait, Mike and Jess?" Bella asked.

"Oh, not since high school," Angela clarified. "But still, you see what I'm getting at."

"Who knows," Rosalie said with a wicked grin. "Maybe Mike's Little Mike isn't so little after all…" At that comment, all four women dissolved in to peals of helpless laughter.

The general chatter continued on through another two cups of coffee each until it was time to go home. Angela offered to give Bella a lift back to Charlie's while Rosalie and Alice headed to the Carlisle and Esme's house in the opposite direction. As the approached Charlie's house, Bella saw Jacob's Rabbit parked in the driveway. Dreading what shameful stories of the night before he was currently telling her dad and Sue, Bella exited the car with a hasty 'goodbye', Angela's amused laughter following her towards the house.

With all these negative scenarios running through her mind, Bella was surprised to see that Jacob wasn't visiting Charlie at all. His massive frame was monopolising the whole sofa as he chatted to Seth, who was sprawled casually on the carpet. Seth gave her a bright smile as she entered the room, and she smiled warmly back. She was very fond of her step-brother, although she did sometimes worry that he'd eat Charlie and Sue out of house and home. There were two large empty chip bags one the floor already, and the smell of a pizza cooking was drifting through from the kitchen.

"Hey, don't blame me!" Seth said, catching her look. "Jake can put away twice what I can!"

"It takes a lot to keep a big engine running in good order," Jacob said defensively from his prone position on the sofa.

Bella shook her head slightly. "I have no idea what they are putting in the water down in La Push," she said, flopping down in to Charlie's armchair with a sigh, propping her feet up on the coffee table.

"And how were we feeling this morning?" Jacob asked, grinning at Bella.

"Not the best ever," she confessed with a rueful laugh. "But the third coffee made _all_ the difference."

"Experience has taught me to steer well clear of the Cullen Cosmo," Jacob said. "Alice says she includes a secret ingredient, and I'm pretty sure it's just about six times more alcohol than regular Cosmos."

Bella laughed, shaking her head in agreement. "So, you work with Rosalie Hale, than?" she asked. "How did that come about?"

"She showed up at my door just over a year ago, looking for a job. The garage was doing well, she knew what she was talking about, so I said 'okay'." Jacob shrugged.

"Where did she come from?"

"Rochester, I think. She was getting away from an ex as far as I know, she doesn't really talk about it."

Bella nodded. Forks was, apparently, the place woman came to get away from their exes. Well, it had worked pretty well for Rosalie Hale, a year one, she was settled with a job, new friends and a man who adored her. This all boded well.

"And she's been great for business," Jacob continued. "Women really like the idea of a female mechanic, think they're less likely to get ripped off." He sounded slightly affronted.

"And they guys love it because she's a stone cold fox," Seth added, helpfully.

"Yeah, and she has a stone cold attitude to match, sometimes!" Jacob said.

"Well, she was perfectly lovely this morning," Bella felt the need to defend Rose in her absence.

"I'm sure Alice will have told her to be on her best behaviour, but trust me- she has an attitude."

"And by 'an attitude', he means 'a mean right hook'," Seth said from the carpet, earning himself another cushion to the head.

"Okay, so sometimes I might wind her up a bit when she's got a mood on, but I'm just trying to lighten the work atmosphere!"

Bella laughed, perfectly able to imagine Jake's perpetual joking getting right under Rosalie's nails. The next couple of hours passed quickly, conversation flowing easily between the three. Bella enjoyed the banter between Jake and Seth, their easy friendship and frequent, deafening laughter. Both a few years younger then she was, they made her feel younger, too. She found herself laughing at immature jokes she would have reprimanded her students for telling and fully enjoying herself.

Once all the non-healthy food had been consumed, Jake decided that he'd better get back home to eat some of his father's food instead. He offered to give Bella a lift back to her own house, and once she'd run upstairs to grab Esme's clothes form the night before to be washed, she bundled back into the tiny Rabbit. Pulling up outside her house, Jake walked her to her door, and she thanked him for taking care of her the night before.

"No problem," he said with a wide, bright smile. "Hey, I was wondering, do you want to go for a drink sometime?"

Bella's mouth, which had been mid-way through it's own answering smile because a round 'o' of surprise. She blinked a couple of times before answering.

"Jake, I'm really flattered-"

"Hey, I get it," he cut it, rubbing her arm reassuringly. "Charlie mentioned you'd just got out of a shitty relationship. I just thought I'd let you know what I was thinking." He headed back to his car, calling over his shoulder- "But just so you know, once you've had some time, I'm going to be asking again." And with another huge, confident smile, he was gone, leaving Bella standing outside her front door, keys in hand, wondering what the hell had just happened.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! If you've got time (and you want to, of course!), please review, I love to hear what you're thinking.

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I am also uploading this story over at Twilighted (link in my profile), and have decided to insert an extra scene in each chapter before posting there. So- anything you wished would happen/ would have liked to see in chapters two or three? Now's your chance to say! I'll pick the best suggestion :)


	4. Tyres

A/N- Big thanks to all of you for reading, and extra thanks to those who have left reviews, they make me smile :)

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Disclaimer- All things Twilight belong to S. Meyer, I'm just playing :)

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Chapter 4- Tyres

The bitter cold during the night had frozen the previous evenings snowfall and so Bella, a nervous driver at the best of times and definitely not used to the icy winter roads of Forks, had given herself an extra fifteen minutes to drive to school. Bundling in to her thick winter coat, she debated for a moment before pulling on the thick woolen hat that Sue had knitted for her last Christmas. Sometimes the quest for style had to be put on hold in the name of avoiding hypothermia.

Finally ready, she grabbed a Thermos of coffee and tried to wedge it into her already overflowing bag as she pulled the door closed behind her. Managing to balance it precariously on top of her bulging folder, she looked up and stopped in her tracks, mouth slightly ajar in shock. Edward Cullen was changing the tyres of her truck.

"Morning Bella," he called, looking up and giving her a small wave.

"Good morning, Edward," she replied, taking a few steps down her driveway. "Um, don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing?"

"I'm changing your tyres." It really didn't sound any less strange when someone else said it, either. "Charlie called this morning," he explained. "He was planning to call by himself because he knows you're not used to driving on icy roads, but he got called out to a disturbance in town so he asked me to come instead." He gave a small shrug and moved around to the last tyre.

"Oh," Bella said uselessly. She self-consciously fiddled with a stray thread on her hat, mentally chastising herself for her decision to wear it while Edward looked immaculate in his police uniform.

"I'll just be a few more minutes," he assured her.

"Take your time, I gave myself some extra time to get to school anyway."

She stood in silence while he finished up. He didn't seem nearly as bothered by the cold, apparently oblivious as he worked the final nuts and bolts back in to place with only a jacket on over his uniform. A short while later he straightened up, dusting his hands off on the front of his trousers.

"All done," he said, and opened the driver's door for her.

Wordlessly, she allowed him to help her in to the seat and close the door firmly behind her.

"I'll see you later then."

"Yes- wait. What?" Bella wondered if she'd missed something.

"At school," Edward clarified.

"Of course, the careers talk," Bella remembered reading a memo along those lines last week. "I'll see you later then. And thank you."

With a curt nod of the head, Edward turned to walk back to his own car.

"Edward," Bella called after him. He stopped mid-step and turned to meet her gaze. "You shouldn't let Charlie take advantage of you, you know."

"It's always a good idea to keep the boss sweet," he replied with a crooked grin, walking down her driveway with his hands casually in his jacket pockets. "I like your hat, by the way," he called back over his shoulder with one last devilish grin. Bella shook her head lightly and laughed to herself. It felt like a very surreal start to the day.

She didn't know if it was the cop thing or the dad thing, but in his way Charlie was always making sure that she was okay. He never asked questions, either. After living with Renee for so many years, Bella had forgotten just how refreshing it could be to _not_ dissect and analyse everything down to the most minute detail. She would have to have a word with him later, though. He couldn't think that it was okay to keep using Edward like this. Starting the engine and cautiously backing out on to the street, Bella was pleased to find the new tyres doing their job and although she drove along slowly as a precaution, her journey to school was blissfully uneventful.

Sadly, her morning turned out to be less than uneventful and _far_ from blissful. Over the past week, Bella had discovered that Heidi and Jane, who were generally obnoxious and narcissistic as pretty teenage girls tended to be if enough people put them on pedestals, seemed to save up a special kind of malice for one of their fellow seniors, a quiet but hard working girl called Nessie. She was a year older then them, and Bella had learned from other staff members that she'd been gravely ill and absent for almost the whole of the previous year. Still, she was at a loss as to what was making Nessie the target of choice.

"I thought people from Florida were supposed to be _tan_," Jane piped up from her seat in the back row during English.

"Jane," Bella sighed. "What exactly does that have to do with Wuthering Heights?"

"You're, like, _really_ pale though," Heidi joined in.

"Well, maybe that's why they kicked me out," Bella quipped with a tight-lipped smile. A couple of the boys chuckled under their breath.

"Figures you'd end up here then, they let all the rejects in here," Jane hissed under her breath, glaring daggers in to the back of Nessie's head. She must have overheard, because her cheeks flamed red, and she ducked her head forwards, letting her long brassy curls cover up her face.

Bella felt a deep sense of injustice on the girl's behalf. Nessie reminded her a little of herself at high school, keeping her head down, getting on with her work and just trying to make it through unnoticed. Bella had mercifully succeeded with that last point, sadly Nessie didn't seem as fortunate. No matter how many times she saw the pecking order in effect, she never failed to feel hurt on behalf of the object of the spitefulness and disappointment that the perpetrators didn't know better by now. Moving Jane and Heidi from their thrones in the back row, Bella seated them at opposite ends of the front row and invited them to join her the following day to think about more productive uses for their time in detention. They spent the remainder of the lesson in a merciful sullen silence.

"Remember to go to the hall after Lunch, everyone!" Bella called out as her students filed out of the classroom when the bell rang. "Officer Cullen is coming in for the first of your career talks this week."

"Officer _Dreamy_," she heard Jane whisper to Heidi as they passed through the doorway. Bella rolled her eyes. Today was giving her a first class headache.

Then in the period before lunch, one of her sophomore's got a nosebleed, which ended up with _Bella_ being taken to the nurse's room when she nearly fainted at the sight of the blood. As luck would have it, Jane and Heidi saw her being helped along by Emmett. Their laughter rang in her ears and followed her all the way down the corridor.

Ten minutes later, Bella was still sat in the nurse's room, head leant back against the wall and a cool compress over here eyes. Her head had almost stopped spinning.

"Bella?" She heard the door open and a familiar, concerned voice.

"Dad?" She lifted up one side of the compress and peeked out from under her eyelashes. The metal legs of the chair next to her scraped loudly against the linoleum as he sat down. He didn't say anything else, but his presence was soothing. After a few moments, Bella pulled the compress off and toyed with it in her lap.

"Feeling better?"

"A little," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You always were squeamish." Bella could hear the smile in his voice.

"Yeah," she agreed, wrinkling her nose. "Dad?"

"Oh dear, the serious voice," he chuckled.

"Edward Cullen changed my tyres this morning," she looked accusingly up at him.

Charlie looked sheepish.

"He's a police officer, not a mechanic," Bella said sternly. "And I am twenty five years old, I can take care of myself."

"I'm sorry, Bells," Charlie said, squeezing her shoulder lightly. "Your old dad just likes to worry about you."

"Well that's fine, but please don't get Edward to run about after me, too. I don't want people to think I'm incapable of doing anything myself."

"Point taken. Now are you feeling up to some lunch?" He asked, standing and holding out a hand to help her up. Bella's stomach gave a loud grumble.

"I guess that's your answer," she said with a sheepish grin, getting to her feet and throwing the compress in to the trash.

"He could have said no, you know," Charlie said as they made their way out of the room. Bella shot him a glare. "I'm just saying, is all," Charlie held his hands up defensively in front of him.

"Okay, Chief Swan, point taken," Bella said sarcastically, linking her arm through Charlie's as they made their way through the crowded corridor, students giving them as wide a berth as possible when they saw her dad. "Now are you taking me to lunch or not?"

Charlie took her to the same diner they had come to during her summer visits as a little girl. The wonderfully retro tomato-shaped ketchup bottles, wipe-clean menus and mismatched chairs all made her feel four years old again; and she was delighted to find they still served her favourite dessert, opting to order that instead of a main. Charlie tutted disapprovingly when she placed her order, but he helped himself to a spoonful when it arrived. While they ate, Bella grilled Charlie on the talk Edward was due to give that afternoon.

"It's a pretty standard Q and A session usually," he informed her. "Truth be told, I'm kind of glad I have Edward to foist it off on this year, after a while these talks get a little tedious."

"Really inspiring passion you have for the job, there, dad," Bella smiled wryly.

"It's good to let the young blood get out there in the community," came the stoic reply.

"Mm-hm," Bella hummed disbelievingly, raising an eyebrow and taking another bite of dessert.

On the drive back to school after lunch, Bella wondered how Edward would be with the students. And, maybe more importantly, how the students would be with _him_, especially after Jane's comment at the end of class that morning. She was under no illusions that her father was secretly delighted not to have to come and talk to a group of bored students for half an hour about a career most of them would never consider. Charlie was incredibly good at his job because he didn't have to make small talk once he'd read people their rights. From what she'd seen of Edward so far, while more reserved than Alice and Emmett- hardly a difficult thing to be- he seemed polite and respectful in a way that would make him a big hit with the little old ladies of the town. She just hoped that he could translate that in to something that would be a hit with a room of seventeen and eighteen year olds.

Pulling into the driveway, she saw Edward's patrol car already pulled up by the flight of stairs that led up to the office. She hurriedly found a parking space and made her way up the steps in record time and without tripping once. Walking into the reception area, she found it empty. Angela was on the phone and held up two fingers to let Bella know she a almost done.

"… Mrs Perry, the suspension decision is final," she was saying. "I can book you an appointment with the dean next week to discuss any further action if that's-" She cut off abruptly and rolled her eyes at Bella mouthing '_sorry_' with one hand held over the mouth piece of the handset. Bella rolled her eyes in return and grinned as she lent against the reception desk to wait. She could hear Mrs Perry's screeching coming from the phone in a tinny echo and said a silent prayer of thanks that she didn't have to deal with disgruntles parents on a daily basis.

A couple of minutes later Angela hung up with a relieved sigh.

"Fun call?"

Angela chuckled mirthlessly. "That was Tom Perry's mom, you know- they boy who was using steroids? Thinks suspension was too harsh a punishment," she said in an exasperated voice. "She's lucky he wasn't _expelled_."

"That's parents for you," Bella said. "Is Edward around?" She changed the subject.

"Oh yes," Angela said. "Sorry, I meant to tell you that first. He's gone to wait in the hall."

Bella smiled in thanks and went off to find him. The heavy doors creaked as Bella pushed them open. Inside, she saw that no students had arrived yet, but that Edward was perched at the edge of the stage, lent back on his arms and staring up at the ceiling, legs swinging slightly in front of him. At the sound of the door, he looked over and grinned slightly, looking nostalgic.

"I feel like a teenager again, being in here," he confided as she made her way down the aisle. A babble of students began to make their way down to the semi-circle of chairs arranged in front of the stage at that moment, preventing Bella from responding. Instead, she saw that the students settled down, which took a predictably long time on their part, and several threats of detention on hers. Eventually, when they were all seated and quiet, Bella introduced Edward- Officer Cullen- and explained the purpose of his visit.

"Okay," she said, wrapping up. "Over to you," she held out an arm, gesturing to Edward and retreating to a chair placed off to the side. Edward hopped down from his perch on the stage and smiled broadly at the students.

"Okay," he said, clapping his hands together in front of him in a business-like manner. "So, I guess you know that I'm here to convince you all that you desperately want to be the next lot of Forks PD recruits," he grinned at them all and Bella sighed out the tension she'd been holding in as she heard a couple of students laugh. "There will be time for any questions at the end, but if you have any in the meantime, please feel free to shout them out," he continued.

For the next quarter of an hour, he gave an engaging talk on the set up of the police department in Forks and what typical duties they faced on a day to day basis, peppering it liberally with anecdotes on the more colourful cases he'd seen during his time, including one involving Emmett, drunk in the main square wearing a baseball cap and not a lot else after one too many of Alice's drinks. Bella found herself laughing along at that one, and made a mental note to stash it away for mocking purposes at a future date. Edward was surprisingly relaxed and informal with the students, which they responded to positively. He also coped very well with the random questions they called out at whim.

"Have you ever shot someone?" called out one boy as Edward was explaining the layout of the station to them.

"In Forks?" Edward asked with an amused chuckle. "Not yet, thankfully, but we all keep our guns on us while on duty."

"_Cool_," the boy said, enthused. "Can we see it now?"

"Sorry," Edward replied, lifting up his jacket to show an empty holster. "I thought I'd be safe without it around you guys, so go easy on me, okay?" He grinned widely at the group, and Bella saw a couple of girls shift in their seats or colour slightly, eyes firmly fixed on the man in front of them. Bella smiled to herself. Gotta love the teenage hormones.

Once he had finished explaining the application and selection process of becoming an officer, Edward opened up the floor for any questions. There was silence for a minute or some, and a few people fidgeted in their seats.

"Did you always want to be an officer?" Jane asked, and Bella was relieved at the tame question.

"Actually, no," Edward answered.

"Didn't you ever want to be, like, a male model or something?" Heidi asked lasciviously, causing Jane to dissolve into helpless giggles by her side.

"Girls," Bella warned sternly. She caught Edwards eye and saw that her was desperately trying to maintain a neutral expression. She bit down on the inside of her lip in an attempt to do the same.

"What did you want to be initially?" Nessie asked, cocking her head to one side in curiosity.

"What do _you _want to be?" Edward answered with his own question, leaning casually back against the edge of the stage.

"An artist," Nessie said after a pause in a voice so that Edward had to strain forwards to catch it. Her cheeks were aflame, and she was staring very fixedly at her hands.

"_Lame_," Bella saw Jane mouth to Lauren. Her eyes narrowed.

Edward was smiling brightly at Nessie, however. "An excellent choice," he declared. "I wanted to be a concert pianist," he said conspiratorially . She looked up, surprised, and there were more than a few raised eyebrows among her peers.

"I know," Edward said in response to the questioning looks he was getting. "Hardly a similar career path, is it?"

"What changed your mind?" Heidi asked, managing to sound genuinely interested.

"Well, wanting to be a concert pianist wasn't really cool enough to tell my friends about," Edward explained, and there were a few knowing smiles amongst his captivated audience. "So I decided that I needed to come up with something else to tell them. Around this time, there had been some disappearances that had been getting a lot of press coverage. Chief Swan became something of a local celebrity when he apprehended the culprit, and it wasn't long after that he came to give the same career talk I just have. Listening to him talk with such passion about his job... I don't know, something just clicked," he finished with a small, crooked smile.

"Play something now," one of the students called out.

"Yeah," another agreed.

Edward looked over to Bella as if to ask permission. She wordlessly shrugged and smiled, gesturing to the piano situated on the stage. Edward grinned and vaulted up on to the stage, making his way purposefully across to the piano.

"Any requests?" He asked once he was seated, straining to see everyone above the instrument.

"Something by Madonna!" was one suggestion, met by giggles.

"Queen!" demanded another.

"Why don't you surprise us?" Bella said loudly as the clamour of suggestions reached fever pitch. The babble of voices slowly died down, and Edward tentatively played the first few notes of a gentle, lilting melody. To Bella, it was achingly familiar. As he continued to play, the notes became surer.

"Any guesses what it is?" Edward asked. "No?" The notes trailed off and he stood, the stool scraping loudly in protest at the sudden movement.

" It was Clair de Lune," Bella heard herself say as Edward jumped back down from the stage.

"Very impressive," Edward said, looking mildly surprised.

"Mom was a Debussy fan," Bella explained, shrugging one shoulder.

The bell rang at that point to signal the end of the lesson.

"Before you go, let's thank Officer Cullen for his time," Bella called to the hubbub of students scraping their chairs and chatting between themselves, making her way to the centre of the semi-circle. There was an uneven chorus of 'thank yous', and a sparse spattering of applause as they filed out. Bella shook her head at their lack of enthusiasm despite their interest in Edward's talk. Even now, a few of the girls were casting final, lingering looks back over their shoulders at him as they left the hall.

Wordlessly, Edward started to help Bella clear the chairs away.

"Sorry about this morning," he said after a few minutes. Bella looked up in surprise. "I didn't mean to startle you," he explained.

"Oh, you didn't," Bella waved away his concern. "I was actually going to thank you an apologise myself- Charlie really shouldn't have imposed on you, and I've told him as much."

"Really, it was no bother," Edward assured her.

"You were good with the students just now."

"That's the product of an Esme Cullen upbringing," Edward shot her a bright smile. " All those charity events and functions... We had to learn to talk to a whole range of people about a lot of different things pretty fast."

"Well, it's stood you in good stead," Bella assured him. "And I'm sorry about Jane and Heidi, they can be a bit... spirited."

"Very diplomatically put," Edward smirked. "And don't worry about it."

Soon, the final chair was stacked.

"I'd better head back to the station then," Edward said.

"Of course, well thank you so much for coming, it was really great to hear how dad had an influence," Bella's face broke in to a genuine smile.

"I never said I didn't live to regret the decision," Edward teased, gathering up his hat and with another nod of the head and lopsided grin, he left.

That afternoon, Bella left work in a much better mood than she could have expected based on that morning's experiences. The short drive home passed in an even quicker blur than normal, and the new tyres bore up just as well on the roads that had since received a fresh dusting of flakes. Once inside her house, Bella kicked off her work shoes and shuffled in to her slippers, dropping her keys in the bowl on the coffee table. The red light on her answer machine was flashing rhythmically, and Bella pressed the large play button.

"You have one new message," she said along with the robotic voice.

There was a slight pause and then the sound of a few uneven breaths. Eventually, a dreadfully familiar voice filled the room, which suddenly seemed half the size.

"_Bella_," the slurred voice said, wrapping itself around her and replaying again and again in her mind. Lightning quick, Bella pressed the erase button before the rest of the message could play out, her heart doing flip flops in her chest.

It was James.


End file.
